Dratted shoe laces won't stay TIED!!

[Java]

I need help keeping laces tied! Either Kael pulls on them or they mysteriously come untied. I double knot, triple knot, go under, go over - they just won't stay tied!!

Is there anything I can do (short of stapling them on his feet) to keep the darned things knotted??

[pritchettzoo]

They make shoelace locks. I'm not sure of the exact name of them, but I've seen them near the cash register at kids' shoe stores. Even Payless I think.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03)
and a BOY! (coming July '05)

[kcimato]

Also, if they are the rounded shoelaces you might try replacing them with flat ones. Sometimes they're hard to find though.

[ellies mom]

OK, I learned this trick that works really well for the "mysterious" untyings but may not work for the regular untying. I use it on my Adidas because I could never keep them tied. I don't know if I'll be able to explain it, but I'll give it a shot. When you've got your two loops, one in each hand and you wrap one around the other, instead of wrapping it once, wrap it twice. It unties just like a regular tie, but it doesn't loosen on its own. So, it won't be Kael proof, but it should cut down on the extra randomn loosenings. HTH

[naomi01]

My mother sold children's shoes for years, and she recommends replacing the synthetic or coated laces with cotton ones - she used to do this on all the shoes she sold. I have done that with almost all of DS's with a good result (kind of annoying when the shoes come from stride rite to begin with though!). I have also done the double knot technique described by the previous poster which also works, but does even better with better quality laces.

Naomi

[tarahsolazy]

I replaced the cotton laces with the twisty bungy cord ones. You just pull to snug them up, then if Fory pulls on them, they just boing. Its very amusing for him, and if anything, makes his shoes tighter, LOL!

[Java]

Thanks for all the ideas, ladies! I kind of knew I would run into this trouble when I bought lace-ups but sheesh! I wasn't expecting them to untie themselves so often!

I will try the double-loop knot and see how that goes. I did stop by Payless this morning and the guy who worked there had NO CLUE what I was talking about when I mentioned the lace-tie-lock. I know what they are but trying to describe them to a clueless person made me feel pretty silly.

Tarah - do those coiley ties really work? I saw them but didn't think they would keep Kael's shoes on tight enough. He's run out of his slip-on tennies before, resulting in a nasty fall so I do want them to stay on nice and snug.

I'm probably not tying them right or something (if that can be done!) because even with his other shoes where the laces are flat and cotton, they still kept coming undone, despite being double knotted. I wish Stride Right had more velcro options for boys.

[tarahsolazy]

The stretchy ones stay very tight. The curls make it hard for the kid to loosen them. You can even tie them, but I don't. They were $3 at Stride Rite, so it might be worth a try.

[ellies mom]

You should be able to buy the lace tie-locks at a fabric store. I bought some to use as a "quick-release" on a pair of maternity pants.

I have a huge problem keeping any of my adidas shoes tied unless I do the double-loop knot. The regular double knots kept slipping out. Drove me plum nuts until I remembered the "magic" way, but like I said in my earlier post, it won't prevent the delibrate untying.

[Java]

Veronica - you rock! The magic double-loop tie works great! My shoe laces haven't come untied yet and neither has Kael's. I keep looking down there out of habit to check his laces and I've been quite surprised to see them still tied nice and tight!

THANKS!!!!